1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to time domain reflectometry (TDR), and more particularly, to the use of TDR for detecting mismatched connectors.
2. Related Art
Modern electronics utilize various connectors for communication between different “boxes.” For example, standards, such as RS232, define physical connection standards and electrical protocols for communication between two systems. A “PHY” is a semiconductor device, or chip, that drives signals over the connection standard. Other standards govern network communications, telecommunications, and inter-device communications, such as the Ethemetor telephone systems. The telephone connector is known as “RJ11,” and has up to six leads, of which two or four are typically used. Ethernet connectors, usually designated as “RJ45,” have eight wires, of which typically four are used for 10/100Base-TX.
One of the problems often encountered in commercial applications is that the RJ11 will be plugged into an RJ45 socket (the male RJ11 connector will physically mate with a female RJ45 socket), even though the connectors and systems behind the connectors are otherwise electrically incompatible. This mechanical compatibility and electrical incompatibility are usually not a problem in the context of business and corporate applications, where employees of an IT department are usually knowledgeable enough not to attempt to force the RJ11 connector into an inappropriate (for example, an Ethernet) socket.
In the consumer space, however, this is often not the case. Many modern devices, such as gaming devices and broadband modems (such as cable or DSL modems) use an Ethernet connector to communicate with a desktop computer or each other. The desktop computer also frequently has an RJ11 socket for plugging in a telephone wire for a low-band-rate modem. Because many consumers are not technologically sophisticated, they often connect the wrong plug into the wrong socket. When the device does not work as advertised (which it obviously cannot, given that the connection is made to the wrong socket), the consumer becomes frustrated, and calls the technical support hotline (if any). Calls to the hotlines are frequently expensive for manufacturers, particularly for problems which are actually not hardware or software problems but simply the result of the plug being mated into the wrong socket.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to reduce the possibility of the consumer plugging in the wrong connector into the wrong socket.